A car drives through floodwater in Essex. Photograph: Ian Nicholson/PA

Britain was battered by wintry weather again today, as a storm brought gale force winds, torrential rain and snow that caused flooding, power cuts and widespread travel disruption in England and Wales.

Some 3,000 homes were left without electricity and about 200 schools were closed for the day after almost a month's rain fell in 24 hours in some parts of southern England and a band of snow hit a swath of the country from south Wales to the Midlands.

Fire brigades took hundreds of emergency calls from residents whose homes had been flooded and motorists stranded in floodwater. Other travellers found their plans thrown into chaos as flights and trains were cancelled and roads shut, and melting snow added to flooding fears.

After a week-and-a-half of severe disruption, forecasters said the worst weather appeared to be over, with drier conditions predicted for the rest of the week.

By mid-afternoon today the Environment Agency had issued more than 100 flood warnings, and London's Thames Barrier was expected to remain shut until late afternoon to protect the capital from a rising tide.

A severe flood warning, which indicates extreme danger to life and property, remained in place for the rivers Chelmer and Can at Chelmsford, Essex. Sections of two major roads in the county – the A12 at Ingatestone and the A127 at its junction with the A130 – were closed because of flooding and many minor roads were also shut. Police said 12 people had been evacuated in Steeple Bumpstead because their homes were at risk, and firefighters received more than 200 calls.

"People have reported water entering their homes and affecting electricity, in some cases rows of houses. Others are stranded in their cars in floodwater and another incident involves the collapse of a road," said a spokesman.

"Most of the work has involved routine and lengthy pumping out. People continue to put themselves at risk by driving through floodwater and getting stranded. Our advice is to use common sense."

Fire crews in West Sussex, another badly affected area, received about 160 flood-related calls, while their colleagues in East Sussex took 75 calls.

Drivers were rescued from stranded vehicles in Devon, Somerset, Wiltshire and Hampshire.

Emergency services in Kent received 28 reports of fallen trees, and roads were closed across Wiltshire, Somerset, Devon and Cornwall.

The storm, which comes a week after the heaviest snowfall for 18 years wreaked havoc on the UK's transport network, also brought strong winds, with gusts of up to 60mph in coastal areas.

Both river Severn crossings in and out of Wales were closed overnight because of ice falling from bridges but were reopened this morning. The Highways Agency said maintenance crews had been working through the night around the country to clear roads of snow and floodwaters in time for the morning rush hour.

Rail travellers between London, Birmingham and Manchester were affected as Virgin cancelled some services, and Southern trains reported delays on services between Lewes and Eastbourne in East Sussex due to flooding on the line at Glynde.

A landslip near Meopham in Kent led to 60-minute delays to some train services from Kent to London run by Southeastern, and flooding near Pewsey, Wiltshire, caused delays of up to an hour to First Great Western services between Westbury and Reading.

Several flights were disrupted at Luton airport this morning, with five cancelled, two delayed, and another rescheduled to depart from Stansted.

Bristol airport was closed overnight because of severe weather conditions and heavy snowfall, with eight outbound flights and several inbound flights cancelled or diverted to other airports.

Heavy snow in Northamptonshire closed more than 70 schools in the county and all school transport was cancelled. In Gloucestershire 52 schools shut, many in the Forest of Dean, because of roads covered in ice and sludge.

In south-east Wales more than 70 schools also shut their doors as snow and ice made access hazardous.

London, Kent, Sussex and Hampshire had up to 35mm of rain overnight. The average rainfall for the month of February is between 40mm and 60mm.

The wettest place in Britain was the Isles of Scilly, which recorded 55mm of rain over 12 hours yesterday, according to MeteoGroup, the Press Association's weather centre.

In Northolt, west London, 35mm of rain was recorded in 24 hours, while Shoreham, in West Sussex, and parts of Essex saw 45mm.

Of the 3,000 homes that suffered power cuts in Gloucestershire, Worcestershire and Herefordshire, engineers had managed to restore power to 2,000 by 4.30am.

By the afternoon, forecasters said, the worst of the wet weather was over. "The horrible weather of the last 24 hours is just disappearing," said Gareth Harvey, of Meteogroup.

"The legacy of the North Sea coastal showers are pulling away into the continent and sitting across the low countries. It should be getting drier for the rest of the week apart from a few showers. But it will remain very cold with temperatures below average."